TLC’s Best of the Noughties: 2007
The media’s obsession with fallen pop stars continued in 2007, sadly this time with the incredibly talented Amy Winehouse who released a historical gem with Back to Black. Another monumentally innovative release was M.I.A.‘s highly anticipated sophomore album Kala which skipped all over the musical grid and put her on the mainstream map.
After the completion Radiohead‘s contract with EMI the band shocked the music industry by announcing the self- release of In Rainbows, which allowed music fans decide how much they wanted to pay for the digital download of the release. Their decision to do so strikes a cord to this day with musicians and music aficionados. While the world was losing their mind over the introduction of the iPhone, we were busy rocking out to the 15 Best Albums of 2007 which you can see below.
Be sure to visit our Caramel Shop powered by Amazon.com to purchase all of the titles listed in our Best of the Noughties List! Two more years left on our countdown to 2009, stay tuned for 2008-2009! Previous lists are here: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Artist: Amy Winehouse
Album: Back to Black
Label: Island Universal/Republic
Released: October 30th 2006 in the UK, March 13th 2007 in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 1
Peak on US Charts: Number 2
Recognition: Back to Black won 5 Grammys at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards and was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Music Prize.
Stream: Back to Black
Purchase Back to Black
MP3: Amy Winehouse – Rehab (Hot Chip Remix) or zShare
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Artist: M.I.A.
Album: Kala
Label: XL
Released: August 20th in the UK, August 21st in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 39
Peak on US Charts: Number 18
Recognition: Rolling Stone said Kala “strikes deep. There’s a resolute sarcasm, a weariness and defiant determination, a sense of pleasure carved out of work – articulated by the lyrics, embodied by the music.” Paper Planes was nominated for The Record of the Year Grammy and M.I.A. won British Female Solo Artist BRIT Awards.
Stream: Paper Planes
Purchase Kala
MP3: M.I.A. – Paper Planes or zShare
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Artist: Arcade Fire
Album: Neon Bible
Label: Merge
Released: March 5th in the UK, March 6th in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 2
Peak on US Charts: Number 2
Recognition: Q Magazine named Neon Bible the #1 Album of the Year while Mark Beaumont of the NME said the album “is a climactic monolith of a record in the grand tradition of melodic transatlantic clamour rock.”
Purchase Neon Bible
MP3: Arcade Fire – Keep the Car Running or zShare
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Artist: Klaxons
Album: Myths of the Near Future
Label: Polydor
Released: January 29th in the UK, March 27th in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 2
Peak on US Charts: Number 22 on the Heatseekers Chart
Recognition: Myths of the Near Future won the 2007 Mercury Prize.
Stream: Gravity’s Rainbow
Purchase Myths of the Near Future
MP3: Klaxons – It’s Not Over (Skream Remix) or zShare
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Artist: Kings of Leon
Album: Because of the Times
Label: HandMeDown/RCA
Released: April 2nd in the UK, April 3rd in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 1
Peak on US Charts: Number 25
Recognition: NME commented that Because of the Times “cements Kings Of Leon as one of the great American bands of our times.”
Stream: Knocked Up
Purchase Because of the Times
MP3: Kings of Leon – Knocked Up or zShare
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Artist: Radiohead
Album: In Rainbows
Label: Self-Released
Released: October 10th – International Digital Download
Peak on UK Charts: Number 1 (Physical Release)
Peak on US Charts: Number 1 (Physical Release)
Recognition: In Rainbows won two Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Special Limited Edition Package. Rolling Stone gave the album four and a half stars out of five and commented that the album as containing “No wasted moments, no weak tracks: just primo Radiohead.”
Stream: Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Purchase In Rainbows
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Artist: The Wombats
Album: A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation
Label: 14th Floor Records
Released: November 5th in the UK, June 24th 2008 in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 11
Peak on US Charts: Number 20 on the Heatseekers Chart
Recognition: Spin gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars and said “Despair rules on this Liverpool threesome’s crackling debut, wrapping loneliness in spiffy power pop.”
Purchase A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation
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Artist: The Shins
Album: Wincing the Night Away
Label: Sub Pop Records/Transgressive
Released: On January 9, 2007, iTunes accidentally put the album on sale two weeks before its official release, then removed it. The album was officially released on January 23th.
Peak on UK Charts: Number 16
Peak on US Charts: Number 2
Recognition: Wincing the Night Away was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
Stream: Sleeping Lessons
Purchase Wincing the Night Away
MP3: The Shins – Australia (Peter Bjorn and John Remix) or zShare
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Artist: The Cribs
Album: Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
Label:Wichita Recordings/Warner Bros. Records
Released: May 21st in the UK, July 17th in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 13
Peak on US Charts: Never Charted
Recognition: Rolling Stone rated the album 4 out of 5 stars and said “Finally, the Cribs deliver the tour de force they had in them, and it’s about time.”
Stream: Men’s Needs
Purchase Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
MP3: The Cribs – Men’s Needs (CSS Remix) or zShare
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Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Album: Favourite Worst Nightmare
Label: Domino/Warner Bros.
Released: April 23rd in the UK, April 24th in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 1
Peak on US Charts: Number 7
Recognition: Favourite Worst Nightmare was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Prize and won the Best British Album at the BRIT Awards in 2008.
Stream: Do Me a Favour
Purchase Favourite Worst Nightmare
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Artist: Bloc Party
Album: A Weekend in the City
Label: Wichita
Released: February 5th in the UK, February 6th in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 2
Peak on US Charts: Number 12
Recognition: Louis Pattison of NME rated the album 8 out of 10 stars and described the album as “tender and reflective, edgy and embittered; a difficult and emotional beast that jolts with nervous electricity.”
Purchase A Weekend in the City
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Artist: Feist
Album: The Reminder
Label: Cherrytree/Interscope
Released: April 23rd Internationally, May 1st in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 28
Peak on US Charts: Number 16
Recognition: The Reminder was nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, while PopMatters rated the album 9 out of 10 and said “The Reminder is an exceptional album that should be experienced solely on the merits its stunning musicality.”
Purchase The Reminder
MP3: Feist – I Feel it All (Diplo Remix) or zShare
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Artist: The Good, the Bad & the Queen
Album: The Good, the Bad & the Queen
Label: Parlophone/Honest Jon’s
Released: January 22nd in the UK, January 23rd in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 2
Peak on US Charts: Number 49
Recognition: The Guardian rated the album 4 out of 5 and said “You’re left both marvelling at the album itself, and considering what a unique figure Albarn cuts. If you doubt it, try to imagine the result if any of Britpop’s other major players had assembled a supergroup and made an anti-war concept album. Now take your fist out of your mouth.”
Purchase The Good, the Bad & the Queen
MP3: The Good, the Bad & the Queen – Green Fields or zShare
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Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Album: Sound of Silver
Label: DFA
Released: March 12th in the UK, March 20th in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 28
Peak on US Charts: Number 46
Recognition: The Guardian gave the album a 5-star review and said “This is dance-rock for grown-ups: extraordinary.” Sound of Silver was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album.
Purchase Sound of Silver
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Artist: Peter Bjorn & John
Album: Writer’s Block
Label: Wichita/V2
Released: August 14th 2006 in the UK, February 6, 2007 in the US
Peak on UK Charts: Number 68
Peak on US Charts: Number 114
Recognition: The Guardian gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and called it “A delight, from start to finish.”
Purchase Writer’s Block
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